Chief Brendan Cox has been in his role as the interim Chief of the Albany Police Department since 2024 after stepping down from the chief role in 2017.
Applyrs said that as chief during her administration, Cox will continue to work on improving community relations and staffing the department.
“Chief Cox has shown openness to reform and a clear commitment to independent community oversight," she said. "He has a track record of that. He understands that public safety depends on trust, transparency and respect. I know that he understands that, but I've seen it in action, not just for a week, not just for a month, but over an extended period of time.”
Both Applyrs and Cox said they were hoping to counter what they see as a misperception that Albany is unsafe, citing data from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice that showed a decrease of 47% in shootings with injury in Albany since 2024. Cox said staffing will be a priority.
“We need health and wellness," he said. "The women and men of the department deserve to be taken care of. Our community and our police deserve to come together, and I look forward to those challenges.”
Cox also told WAMC News he was hoping to implement new reforms within, including expanding the newly introduced Community Advocacy Response Team, which pairs trained crisis social service caseworkers with law enforcement to respond to certain emergencies.
“That's something I'll work very closely with the mayor elect, but, I mean, I think we've already gotten a lot of things off the ground, including the community advocacy Response Team, which I don't look at as a reform," he said. "I look at [it] as recognizing that we need to be innovative. We need to recognize that there are things that we need to one make sure we provide the appropriate resources for our officers to recognize that they don't need to go on every call for service. And two, we need to make sure we have the right response for our community members that might be in need, and get the right resources for them.”
Mayor-elect Applyrs also announced a series of meet and greets with community members and leaders in January and February to allow community members to express their concerns about public safety directly to herself and Chief Cox. Applyrs pointed to the community advocates and members standing behind her, and emphasized the importance of addressing public safety with their input.
“I can't underscore how essential community partnership is in addressing public safety," she said. "These are the individuals you don't just call when you need something. They are the individuals that you build relationship with, because things will happen, and we need instant trust in one another so that we understand out the gate that we are all walk, walking and working together with the city's best interest at heart and the community's best interest at heart as well as our Police Department's best interest at heart.”
